Week of Tips: Ground Yourself: Meditation

Today continues a a week of tips on how to ground ourselves for the fall.  See the past two days' posts on Fall Cleaning and Fall Eating.

Grounding our physical home and  our physical body is just as important as grounding our mind.  Symptoms of an ungrounded mind include being spacey, having erratic emotions, frenetic energy, stress "freakouts" and other high energy, irrational behavior (vs. low energy irrational behavior like being depressed).  A practice that can help with "getting out of your head" and grounding yourself is meditation.  I've spoken about meditation a couple of times before but not in the context of grounding.

People of all ages can benefit from meditation! (source)

The purpose of a grounding meditation is to bring you back down to earth.  When you have less energy in your mind, you will experience a calmer energy and be more level-headed.  I know that I can always use more calm energy in my life.

Meditation does not have to entail sitting in lotus position for hours.  Here are several simple ways to ground yourself through meditation.

Seated meditation #1: Meditation can take place in many seated forms.  You can be regular cross-legged, in full or half lotus position, or on your knees and sitting on your heels.  The best of these to practice a grounding meditation is touching the ground with your backside.  This gives your body a concrete connection with the earth.  As you meditate, you can picture rooting yourself to the ground and allowing the activity in your head to dissipate back into the earth and simultaneously, bringing up that calm earth energy into your head.

Seated meditation #2: A meditation while seated in a chair can be as effective as one seated on the ground.  Sit comfortably in a chair with both of your feet flat on the ground.  Close your eyes and relax each part of your body.  Next picture yourself as a tree with roots.  Imagine that those roots are holding you firmly into the ground and at the same time bringing you the life energy from the center of earth.  Envision the transfer of energy revitalizing you and rooting you into the ground.

Walking meditation: You don't have to be seated and close your eyes in order to meditate. Meditation is about bringing awareness and being present all the time.  A great way to integrate a grounding practice into your day is to pay attention when you walk.  Focus on the connection between your feet and the ground.  Don't do anything else while you walk.  Don't talk or play on your phone or think about your grocery list. Simply walk and concentrate on each step allowing you to develop a more intimate relationship with the earth.

Have you tried a grounding meditation before?  Any tips for me and other readers?  If you haven't tried any, what do you think you'd like to tackle this week?  I'd love to know!

Quote for the Week: Courtesy of Thich Nhat Hanh

Every Sunday I will post a quote, thought, or tip to ease you into Monday and carry you throughout the week.

I'm going to keep it really short and sweet this week.  In following my theme of meditation the past couple of posts, here is a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist.

"Life is available only in the present moment." 

Mantra

Today was Day 1 of my 7 day challenge to spend 10 minutes a day meditating.  I usually practice sitting meditation and did so today.  Surprisingly the 10 minutes passed by very quickly.  My mantra was "peaceful mind, mindful peace." Because I have a busy mind, I find a mantra or a saying is a very helpful way for me to remain present.  I have not yet found a mantra that I feel resonates with me fully.  This week will be a great way to experiment.  How was your day 1?

Do You Have Time to Breathe?

In today's post, I am going to speak about my experience with meditation.  The reason why I am talking about meditation on this blog is because I see it as one of my Primary Foods, Spirituality.  (Please refer to my post on Primary Foods to refresh yourself on the lifestyle elements of health.)  Here is a reminder of my view on Spirituality: 

Spirituality: Now, don’t be turned off by the term spirituality. It can mean your relationship with God, but to me, it really means your relationship with yourself and how you see yourself in relation to the world. Believing in a greater being is only a component of that. I work with clients to believe in themselves and seek a spiritual practice that works best for them. That may encompass working on self esteem or better understanding their relationship with God.

The first time I practiced sitting meditation was in a class entitled "Do You Have Time to Breathe?" It was a 6 week course at Back Bay Yoga led by Buddhist monk, Joseph Kappel, in which I and 25 other people spent 1.5 hours "sitting" (another way to say meditating) and learning about Joseph's experience as a monk in Thailand as well as his views on being present. It was an amazing experience and I learn a lot from Joseph and the other students in the class.  By the last session, I definitely noticed a calmer and more relaxed mind and demeanor. I don't think I will ever be completely present during a meditation but meditation is not about that. Just like yoga is not about being able to do a flawless half moon or a perfect savasana.

Meditation is practiced differently by different people. It may seem like a very daunting practice but it actually couldn't be a simpler concept.  The ultimate goal is to be present-to have a still mind.  Not very easy to achieve but its about the journey, not the destination.  How you practice meditation can vary-you don't have to sit to meditate.  Some practice sitting meditation, others meditate while walking-being aware of every step they take, others practice through movement like yoga and I'm sure there are others of which I'm not aware.  At the end of the day, it is about being present, comfortable in your surroundings and in your own skin. 

Moving into a condo, traveling to NYC every month for school, additional responsibilities at work, starting my own health counseling practice and juggling obligations at home have all made for a hectic 2010.  It has been a challenge to integrate a regular yoga practice and meditation practice.  Why am I telling you this?  Well because at the end of the day, I am a student too on my journey through life.  My experiences are lessons for me and part of the value I add to my clients' programs as well as this blog.  So, in the spirit of learning together, I invite you in joining me on a week of spending time to "breathe."  I plan to spend 10 minutes everyday for the next 7 days sitting and meditating.  If anyone would like to join me, post below your intentions and I will check in again in one week to see how it went.  If you read this post later on in the week, you can still join me!  Have a great weekend and remember to breathe!